Well, it’s probably big to Zach Duke. And his parents and family are probably happy that his baseball career marches on. Shut up. Zach Duke has accomplished more in life than most of the rest of us: The #Brewers have signed LHP Zach Duke to a minor-league contract with an invitation to Major League camp.…

Pirates starter A.J. Burnett, who earlier today told the media he is still considering retiring after the 2013 season, turned in a gem against the division and Wild Card rival Reds. The Reds went ahead early on a Ryan Ludwick RBI single in the first inning and a Zack Cozart solo home run in the…

Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez already has one of the three NL Gold Gloves for outfielders locked up, but he decided to pad his resume in case anyone was still on the fence about his defensive prowess. With two runners on base with two outs and the game tied 5-5 in the ninth inning, Jay…

The Nationals will call up prospect right-hander Nate Karns to start Tuesday against the Orioles, reports Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com. He’ll fill the rotation spot of Ross Detwiler, who has been dealing with a right oblique strain for well over a week and was finally placed on the disabled list yesterday. Karns only has nine…

Nationals starter Ross Detwiler has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right oblique, reports Adam Kilgore. The lefty missed his previous scheduled start on May 20 against the Giants and was replaced by Zach Duke. Thanks to an off-day on the 23rd, the Nationals were able to bump everyone else up…

Here’s something Nationals fans don’t want to hear. According to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com, Nationals manager Davey Johnson said after tonight’s game that Stephen Strasburg is currently dealing with right forearm tightness. Strasburg allowed two runs on six hits and four walks over six innings tonight as part of a no-decision in a 3-2 loss…

Adam Kilgore: Will Ohman, who pitched the sixth inning today, was cut before the game ended. Tough day at the office. The Nationals had signed Will Ohman to a Minor League deal with an invitation to Major League camp on February 11. He made his only appearance of the spring this afternoon against the Cardinals,…

After watching Sean Burnett, Mike Gonzalez and Tom Gorzelanny all sign elsewhere this offseason, the Nationals are in the market for a left-handed reliever. The pickings are starting to thin out, but Dan Kolko of MASNSports.com reports that J.P. Howell remains the club’s top choice in free agency. Howell, who turns 30 in April, posted…

Sean Burnett has gotten so much interest from other teams that he’s probably priced out of the Nationals’ budget to re-sign. Burnett has been linked to no fewer than a half-dozen other teams as a free agent and general manager Mike Rizzo admitted to Mark Zuckerman of CSNWashington.com that “right now, I don’t see a…

After spending most of this year in the minors Zach Duke pitched well for the Nationals as a September call-up and Amanda Comak of the Washington Times reports they’ve re-signed the left-hander to a major-league deal. Prior to joining the Nationals’ bullpen down the stretch Duke had been starting at Triple-A and 168 of his…

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros announced this morning that left-hander Sergio Escalona has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery next week. Escalona, who was acquired from the Phillies last January, posted a 2.93 ERA and 25/11 K/BB ratio over 27 2/3 innings out…

The 2012 Astros are pretty sure bets to lose 100 games, with the big question being whether they’ll top last year’s mark of 106 losses. That achievement will be tied to their ability to move the contracts of Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Carlos Lee. Ideally, they’d be able to sell off at least the…

Zach Duke, who spent last season with the Diamondbacks, has agreed to a minor-league contract with the Astros. Duke was once considered a top prospect for the Pirates, but had a 4.54 ERA over six seasons in Pittsburgh before being traded to Arizona last offseason. He posted a 4.93 ERA in 77 innings split between…

Here’s an up-to-date list of how the top 111 free agents have fared to date. Note that the list below doesn’t include Yu Darvish or Yoenis Cespedes, two of the remaining gems available to major league teams. 1. Albert Pujols (Cardinals): Angels – 10 years, $254 million 2. Prince Fielder (Brewers) 3. Jose Reyes (Mets):…

Arizona announced four non-tenders, cutting loose Ryan Church, D.J. Carrasco, Augie Ojeda, and Blaine Boyer rather than going through the arbitration process with them. They may also still non-tender Zach Duke prior to tonight’s deadline, but for now the Diamondbacks are reportedly trying to work out a one-year deal with him for a lesser salary…